Bridging the gap Between east and West

An interview with Chinese Bridge Competition Director Wang Feng

“漢語橋”在華留學生漢語大賽總導演王鋒專訪

HOw DID yOu COME uP wITH THE CONCEPT OF THE CHINESE bRIDgE FOREIgN STuDENTS’ LANguAgE COMPETITION?

The birth of the contest was no accident， but was in many ways an inevitable consequence of the growing “fever for Chinese.” As CCTV staff， we feel it’s our responsibility to promote Chinese language and culture， and the TV show is a great platform for doing that.

DO STuDENTS wITH VERy LITTLE ExPERIENCE wITH CHINESE LANguAgE OR CuLTuRE EVER PARTICIPATE? wOuLD yOu ENCOuRAgE THIS?

We encourage everyone who is interested to participate. The purpose of the contest is partly to build awareness of Chinese culture and contemporary society. Its challenges move from an elementary to more advanced knowledge of Chinese culture， so those contestants that make it to the end emerge with a basic understanding of Chinese culture， which in turn is made available to viewers.

ARE THERE ANy PAST PERFORMANCES OR PRESENTATIONS THAT REALLy STAND OuT IN yOuR MIND?

Our show emphasizes contestants’ability to use and synthesize the language， but the TV format obviously lends itself well to stage performance. But for me， it’s the student personalities that have really left an impression. Though the contestants’ nationalities， ethnicities and modes of thinking are all different， not to mention the depth of their understanding of Chinese culture， what never fails to impress me is that all of them are equally passionate about the subject.

wHAT DO yOu THINK wHEN yOu SEE SOME OF THE AMAzINg TALENTS DISPLAyED by THE CONTESTANTS， ESPECIALLy THE ONES wHO PERFORM CHINESE ARTS?

I feel extremely moved. I’ve been the contest’s main director since it started， and we spend a long time planning it， so my feelings toward it run very deep. I also have deep feelings for the contestants who regularly participate. They’re obviously well versed in both the language and the culture. Some of the talents we see are just breathtaking， because honestly they do things that a lot of us Chinese people couldn’t， so I’m just moved by all these foreigners who love our language and culture so much.

DuRINg THE SEMIFINALS， HANbAN ENCOuRAgES PARTICIPANTS TO wEAR CLOTHINg THAT REPRESENTS THEIR HOME COuNTRy. wHAT’S THE IDEA bEHIND DOINg THIS?

Actually， starting with the preliminaries there are a lot of contestants who voluntarily wear their national dress. Others turn up wearing Chinese clothes， but it’s their own choice. So I was thinking that it’s better to embody tolerance and multiplicity. You can wear Chinese-style clothes and speak Chinese， but you’re still expressing your own country’s principles and way of thinking. If you wear Western clothing and speak Chinese， that shows an even deeper understanding of and identification with Chinese culture. This isn’t a contradiction. This platform is here to give everyone the chance to show off their own country’s culture， and let the TV audience get a feeling for a number of different cultures.

PARTICIPANTS HAVE SAID ONLINE THAT THE CHINESE bRIDgE COMPETITION HAS bEEN A LIFECHANgINg ExPERIENCE FOR THEM. wHy DO yOu THINK THIS IS SO?

I think one aspect of it is that it provides foreigners from 40 to 50 countries the chance to come to Beijing and share 20-something days of excitement， thrills， highs， lows and surprises. They meet a lot of friends， their Chinese and knowledge of China improves， they gain confidence and learn about themselves. At this event， these foreign friends are really stars; after the competition， in a lot of people’s minds， they are still heroes and stars. A more indirect influence is that it may lead to better job opportunities and is beneficial in other ways to their future

development.-jeSSica rapp (阮潔茜)